Scary Movie 3

Cynics might say that the most frightening thing about part three of this spoof franchise is the fact that its American box-office success virtually guarantees an eternity of additions to the Scary Movie series.

But for its first half hour, it seems that the decision to hand over the reins from the Wayan Brothers to Flying High director David Zucker has had artistic as well as commercial pay-offs.

Well, "art" might be pushing it, but the prologue featuring Jenny McCarthy and Pamela Anderson is a deliciously downmarket opening.

Of course, it is mandatory to have seen the film's principle targets, which include Signs, The Matrix, The Ring, The Sixth Sense and 8 Mile - all of which, it must be acknowledged, provide ample opportunities for target practice.

Loosely connecting the frequent segues between these and other parodies is TV reporter Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris, the only survivor of the first two Scary Movies), whose talent for stumbling on to bizarre events knows no bounds.

The chief problem is that once we've been introduced to the main set-ups, there's little in Scary Movie 3 that could be called hilarious.

Faris isn't nearly as sharp as she is in the soon to be released Lost in Translation, where she plays an obnoxious and over-Botoxed American film star in Tokyo.